Blow Out18

Directed by Brian De Palma | USA | 1981 | 1h 48m | Starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Curt May

A sound technician accidentally records evidence of a political assassination while working on a low-budget horror film. As he delves deeper into the mystery, he becomes entangled in a deadly conspiracy. With its stylistic flourishes and a gritty portrayal of early-1980s Philadelphia, De Palma’s Hitchcockian take on Antonioni’s Blow Up is both a paranoid thriller reflective of its political era and a devilish meditation on the art of filmmaking.

Classic Season: Surveillance

Reviews

‘A horror movie, a paranoid political drama and a serial killer flick all at once.’
★★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

‘A movie which continues [De Palma] practice of making cross-references to other movies, other directors, and actual historical events, and which nevertheless is his best and most original work.’
★★★★
Roger Ebert

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We showed Blow Out between July 6, 2024 and July 8, 2024.

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Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

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